Budapest’s City Park Ice Rink (Városligeti Műjégpálya) plans to open its 2026/2027 skating season on Friday 20 November, with a festive opening event from 5pm to 9pm to mark the 100th anniversary of the rink’s mechanisation.
The rink announced the date on its own website on 28 October. Its notice states that the season opening may be affected by weather conditions, with any changes published on its official channels. Organisers say they are preparing ice sports shows, music and programmes for all age groups. The full programme for the anniversary opening and ticket purchase options will be announced later, so no prices for the new season have been published yet.
A rink with history
The rink first opened on 29 January 1870, making it one of Europe’s oldest outdoor ice rinks, according to the English-language outlet Daily News Hungary. Euronews included it in its selection of European outdoor ice rinks worth visiting this winter, published on 4 November. The venue sits in City Park (Városliget) beside Vajdahunyad Castle, at 1146 Budapest, Olof Palme sétány 5, and is operated by the Budapest Sports Service Center Nonprofit Ltd.
What a visit may cost
Prices from last season are currently the only guide available, as the rink’s website still lists them and the 2026/2027 rates have not been announced. Daily News Hungary, citing Pénzcentrum, reports that in the 2025/2026 season an adult ticket cost HUF 3,500 in normal periods and HUF 4,500 at peak times, which included Friday evenings and weekends. Student and pensioner tickets were HUF 2,500 and HUF 3,500. A four-person family ticket cost HUF 9,500 normally and HUF 12,500 at peak times.
Skate hire was HUF 3,500 plus a refundable HUF 2,000 deposit per pair, a helmet cost HUF 1,500, and a 10-entry adult pass cost HUF 31,500. Children under six skate free, under-12s must skate with an adult, and 12 to 14-year-olds need written parental permission. There is no separate spectator ticket, so accompanying adults must also buy admission. All of these figures are last season’s. They have not been confirmed for 2026/2027 and should be treated as an indication only.
The renovation behind the season
The rink’s cooling system needs replacing, and the project is running late and over budget. According to reports by Index and Népszabadság, summarised by Daily News Hungary, the operator, the Budapest Sports Service Centre (BSK), originally budgeted HUF 400 million for a complete replacement. A preliminary estimate had risen to HUF 776 million by June, and the contract eventually signed was worth HUF 798 million net, more than HUF 1 billion including VAT (about EUR 2.8 million). Construction is now scheduled to finish in August 2027.
A separate contractor has been selected to carry out urgent repairs to holes in the main steel pipeline beneath the rink, with a budget of HUF 15 million, intended to keep the facility operating through this season.
What to watch
Whether the rink opens as planned on 20 November, and what the 2026/2027 ticket prices turn out to be. The date remains subject to weather, the venue has said it will post updates on its official channels, and the opening falls at the start of Budapest’s wider winter season.
Sources: City Park Ice Rink (mujegpalya.hu); Daily News Hungary; Euronews.
Image: Christo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File photo — the City Park Ice Rink in Budapest with skaters on the ice in front of the rink building.